Summary: 511
G
Mexico recognized the importance of the breeding lagoons to the
recovery of the gray whale and it is the only nation to provide impor-
tant habitat protection for the eastern population. In 1972, it estab-
lished Ojo de Liebre Lagoon (the principle calving and nursery area)
as the world's first whale refuge. In 1979, San Ignacio Lagoon became
a Whale Refuge and Maritime Attraction Zone. In 1980, reserve sta-
tus extended to Laguna Manuela and Laguna Guerrero Negro. All lie
within the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, created in 1988. In 1993,
the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) made Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio Lagoons World
Heritage Sites. Lastly, in 2002, all Mexican territorial seas and EEZ
were declared a refuge to protect large whales.
See Also the Following Articles
Baleen Whales (Mysticetes) Whaling, Early and Aboriginal
Whaling, Traditional
References
Andrews, R. C. (1914). Monographs of the Pacific Cetacea. I. The
California gray whale (Rhachianectes glaucus Cope). Mem. Am. Mus.